On the Hilbert function of the tangent cone of a monomial curve (Q906986)

Let \(S\) be a numerical semigroup minimally generated by \(g_1,\ldots , g_n\). Consider also the semigroup ring \(R=k[\![t^{g_1},\ldots , t^{g_n}]\!]\) associated to \(S\), where \(k\) is an infinite field; \(R\) is then a one-dimensional local domain with maximal ideal \(\mathfrak{m}=(t^{g_1},\ldots , t^{g_n})\). Setting \(k=R/\mathfrak{m}\), for the associated graded ring \(\mathrm{gr}^h(R):=\mathfrak{m}^h/\mathfrak{m}^{h+1}\), its Hilbert function is defined as \(H_R(h)=\mathrm{dim}_k \mathrm{gr}^h(R)\) for all \(n\in \mathbb{N}\). In this paper the authors investigate \(H_R(h)\) by means of the Apéry set of the semigroup \(S\). The main result gives a sufficient condition for \(R\) to have a non-decreasing Hilbert function for arbitrary embedding dimension.